Thomas Gerbasi

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One Down, and a Career to Go, Witherspoon Continues on His Pro Journey

By Thomas Gerbasi
(January 25, 2005)

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For budding heavyweight prospect Chazz Witherspoon, his pro debut last December 12 wasn’t too much different from his usual forays into the ring. And with the exception of fighting for the first time without headgear and a t-shirt, the result was pretty much the same – a knockout.

But behind the overhand right that sent James Daniel to defeat at 1:53 of the first round was a realization by Witherspoon that he was now fighting on the level where he can either make it all the way to a world championship or become like the scores of fighters who never reach those lofty heights. Now everything’s on the line with each clang of the bell.

"Nobody really looks at your amateur record and it doesn’t count, so that slate is gonna get wiped clean, whereas though this is forever; this is definitely for keeps," said Witherspoon. "So I think that the atmosphere is a little heightened being as though this is your pro career and there’s nothing else after this. It’s going to be your record for life, so you definitely have to go out there with that type of intensity."

Daniel will attest to Witherspoon’s intensity, and that’s also bad news for whomever the Philly heavyweight steps into the ring with this Thursday in Glen Burnie, Maryland for the 2005 premiere of Ballroom Boxing. But given the history of Scott Wagner’s long-running series, Witherspoon probably won’t be given an easy mark to fight on Thursday.

"It’s gonna be what it’s gonna be," said Witherspoon. "I’m not really worried about it because I know I’m prepared for the fight. I’m just gonna go there and give it my all."

On a card filled with highly touted prospects like 2004 US Olympic Bronze medallist Andre Dirrell, his brother Anthony, hard-hitting Nick Casal, and the Fernando Vargas-managed Daniel Cervantes, Witherspoon, at just 1-0, would normally have to fight for room among his peers when it comes to news space. But with a deadly combination of heavy hands, a winning personality and story, a famous last name (shared by his cousin Tim), and the tireless efforts of ace publicist Fred Sternburg, it’s been hard to look around without seeing something written about the young man dubbed "The Mensa Mauler".

"The media coverage, I know that I’m getting a lot of that off the fact that my name is Chazz Witherspoon, so I wasn’t really that surprised," he admits. "But I’m hoping that I can get my own little following on my own merits."

That shouldn’t be difficult for the 23-year-old, who mixes his obvious talent in the ring with a compelling story that can bring life to a moribund division. Come on, where else do you see a kid with a knockout punch who is also one class away from graduating from college with a degree in Pharmaceutical Marketing? That’s right, nowhere.

And even though Witherspoon spends three hours every Tuesday night in St. Joseph’s University taking a statistics class, the rest of his time is spent hitting other people, not the books, as he’s still preparing for his final exams in boxing, a sport where he relies not only on his athleticism and hard work, but by observing veteran practitioners of the craft.

"I do know that I’m definitely on the learning curve, and the thing I think that comes with experience is the ring maturity - they’re very calm in the ring, they’re not wasting any unnecessary energy – and the ability to be able to see something and adapt to it right on the spot," said Witherspoon. "I see things, but it takes me a little longer to see it because I feel I have an untrained eye. I can come back to my corner and my coach will say, ‘well, he’s doing this, you need to counter this way,’ whereas though a mature, experienced fighter sees it for himself and makes the adjustment in the ring. They have outside people telling and helping them also, but they can see a certain amount on their own and make an adjustment on the spot, and that’s where I’m looking to be with the experience. I’m looking to gain that."

It will come in time for Witherspoon, who amazingly has only been boxing for a little under three years, soon after he put basketball aside for academics when he entered St. Joseph’s on an academic scholarship.

"I don’t miss basketball at all," he admits. "I’d like to be able to play it from time to time but now all my time is devoted to boxing so I feel guilty, because every time I even go to pick up a ball I know I could be doing something to help me with the boxing. I’ve been boxing two years and eight months now, and I’ve picked up a ball maybe four times. And I used to practice every day about two hours a day. I miss the practicing a little bit, but not the actual games and going to games, because I’m doing something else. I’m fighting now, so I’ve got a fight coming up, so that’s like a game. One just replaces the other."

So there will be no pickup games for the 6-4 Witherspoon, who averaged 21 points a game as a high school senior.

"No, I can’t afford to sprain my ankle," he said. "I just wouldn’t do that personally. One thing I do that can help is that I prioritize, and if something’s not a high priority on the list, then it’s not going to be done. Boxing is the number one priority now. I put that on top of school now because now I’m a pro and I only have the one class, and then I graduate in May."

Then it’s all boxing all the time, and even though he’s taking small steps each day in the gym when it comes to his development, he’s noticing the difference from when he first picked up the mitts.

"It happens over time, and it kind of just happens out of nowhere because I’m starting to notice things in the ring now, and you have to take an appreciation to it because I can say ‘wow, two months ago I didn’t know this,’" said Witherspoon. "So you’ve got to kind of review it and be conscious about it all the time in order to appreciate what you’ve gained over the time. I don’t think about the fact that just a year ago I still had to worry about stepping with each punch and making sure I was turning my punches. But now that I’m doing that naturally, I have to think about it in order to recognize the fact that I’m doing it. It’s a conscious effort but you’ve got to stay on top of it. You can’t take things for granted. I go back to the drawing board and I think that helps me. I go back after every fight, whether it’s a win or a loss, and I look at it as though it was a loss, and I try to critique every little thing. I dwell on what I’m doing wrong; I don’t really concern myself with what’s going right because that’s self-evident. What you’re doing right is seen on its own. I just concern myself with what I’m not doing right and that kinda helps me."

If he keeps this up, they may start calling Witherspoon "The Mensa Monster".

Stay tuned.